Elvis At Stax’ Box Set Reviews: A World-Class Stylist At The Top Of His Game

Elvis At Stax takes the unconventional step of leading off with a disc-and-a-half’s worth of outtakes. The move works, establishing a loose audio-verité tone that makes it easy to appreciate Elvis’ command of his own gifts and his engagement with the tight, funky group of touring sidemen and studio aces who back him here. …You’re hearing the work of a world-class stylist at the top of his game. – The Austin Chronicle

We’re talking 28 master takes and 27 outtakes. That’s a lot of material, divided between pop, R&B, and country sessions, and it all adds up to a fan’s dream. …As good as the polished master takes are, it’s the alternate takes that help achieve the stated goal of showcasing the spontaneity of the Presley’s Stax sessions. The R&B stuff really cooks, with the band laying into chugging, funky grooves and Presley cutting loose with some of his most inspired and energetic vocals of the era. – The Morton Report

It is really the extras that make this set so cool. The outtakes present a side of The King that we have never really known before. He is just a guy in the studio, doing his thing. By the early ‘70s, Presley’s image was everything, and it is highly refreshing to hear him just being himself. – Blogcritics.org